In a bid to decongest traffic on the stretch from AIIMS to the Indira Gandhi International Airport, lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung has directed Delhi’s Public Works Department (PWD) to carry out a feasibility study to extend Barapullah Elevated Road to Dhaula Kuan and IGI Airport from INA Market T-point. The proposed elevated road from AIIMS to Dhaula Kuan will stretch along the Airport Express Metro line to IGI Airport.
At present, the stretch between AIIMS, Dhaula Kuan and IGI Airport has been a nightmare for commuters. Sources in the PWD said that the total length of the proposed project may be over 17 kms. In the minutes of the meeting (The Pioneer is in possession of the minutes), the l-G has instructed the PWD to take all necessary steps to initiate a project to link Barapullah Corridor to Dhaula Kuan to ease the traffic congestion near AIIMS and INA due to the convergence of vehicles from the elevated corridor and the Ring Road.
The l-G has also directed the official to complete the feasibility study as soon as possible so that the project could begin along with the Barapullah phase-III project that will commence from March 2015. According to a PWD official, the proposal is aimed at ensuring better connectivity from Noida, South and East Delhi to the airport. “There is also a plan to build a bypass from Mahipalpur that would act as a supplementary link to the IGI Airport,” the official said. The department is also studying the feasibility of extending the signal-free road from Sarai Kale Khan and INA to the airport and the Delhi-Gurgaon Highway, a part of National Highway 8. Once Barapullah Elevated Road of Phase-III - from Sarai Kale Khan to Mayur Vihar - opens, travel time from Mayur Vihar to AIIMS will be less than 15 minutes.
“At present, anyone travelling from Dhaula Kuan to the Barapullah Elevated Road has to pass through heavily congested Sarojini Nagar area. With the construction of the loop, there will hassle-free travel from Dhaula Kuan to ISBT. For this, they will have to exit Barapullah Road at Sarai Kale Khan and use the Ring Road bypass flyover towards ISBT,’’ the official said. The 3.4-km stretch between Sarai Kale Khan and Mayur Vihar that will cost Rs 1,260.63 crore, will complete in 36 months. The lieutenant Governor also directed the officials to examine the feasibility of shifting of INA Market to a space available behind the existing market in order to have sufficient space for proper traffic diversion near INA junction.
The PWD also planned to construct a loop near AIIMS flyover, under Barapullah Phase-II, which will not only cut down on travel time between the IGI Airport and North and East Delhi, but also help decongest South Extension, Moolchand and Ashram. The loop from near the AIIMS flyover will extend all the way to Barapullah Elevated Road. The loop will cut away from the elevated road near the AIIMS flyover. A little before Dilli Haat, the road will turn right, go over Aurobindo Marg and touch down on the Barapullah road, around 300 metre after the INA T-point.